To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in GeneralCourt assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to ensure effective health care cost control.

_______________

PETITION OF:

Name:

District/Address:

Tom Sannicandro

7th Middlesex

Martha M. Walz

8th Suffolk

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

Denise Andrews

2nd Franklin

Marjorie C. Decker

25th Middlesex

Jonathan Hecht

29th Middlesex

Jay R. Kaufman

15th Middlesex

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

Jason M. Lewis

Fifth Middlesex

Paul W. Mark

2nd Berkshire

James J. O'Day

14th Worcester

Carl M. Sciortino, Jr.

34th Middlesex

Paul McMurtry

11th Norfolk

William Smitty Pignatelli

4th Berkshire

Ellen Story

3rd Hampshire

Cleon H. Turner

1st Barnstable

Christine E. Canavan

10th Plymouth

James M. Cantwell

4th Plymouth

John P. Fresolo

16th Worcester

Antonio F. D. Cabral

13th Bristol

Frank I. Smizik

15th Norfolk

Edward F. Coppinger

10th Suffolk

Timothy R. Madden

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket

Anne M. Gobi

5th Worcester

Byron Rushing

9th Suffolk

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

Chris Walsh

6th Middlesex

Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.

26th Middlesex

Peter V. Kocot

1st Hampshire

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1677 FILED ON: 1/17/2013

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1053

By Mr. Sannicandro of Ashland, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1053) of Tom Sannicandro and others for legislation to compare cost savings under existing cost control laws to cost savings that could be achieved under a single payer health care system. Health Care Financing.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

_______________

An Act to ensure effective health care cost control.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 1 of Chapter 12C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Self-insured group” the following definitions:-

“Single payer benchmark”, the estimated total costs of providing health care to all residents of Massachusetts under a single payer health care system in the previous year, as established in section 23.

“Single payer health care”, a system providing publicly financed, universal access to health care for the population through a unified public health care plan, simplifying administration and allowing the budgeting of health care spending.

Chapter 12C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 22 the following:-

Section 23. (a) The center shall monitor, review, and evaluate reports related to single payer health care; provided, however, that the center shall also monitor the performance of single payer health care systems in other states and countries. (b) The center shall establish a single payer benchmark that shall be an estimate of the total cost of providing health care to all residents of Massachusetts under a single payer health care system during the previous year, provided that the single payer health care system offers continuous, comprehensive, affordable coverage for all Massachusetts residents regardless of income, assets, health status, or availability of other health coverage. (c) The center shall include in its annual report, as mandated by section 16 (a), a comparison of the single payer benchmark with the actual health care spending in the state for the previous year, indicating whether the state would have saved money while expanding access to care under a single payer health care system.

Chapter 6D of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 18 the following:-

Section 19. If at the outset of fiscal year 2016 the board determines that the single payer benchmark, as calculated by the Center for Health Information and Analysis under Section 23 of Chapter 12C, has outperformed the actual total health care spending and spending growth in the state, the commission shall, no later than June 30, 2017, submit a “Single Payer Health Care Implementation Plan” to the Legislature for consideration. The Implementation Plan will be developed after holding public hearings and meetings across the state, and will consist of legislation to implement a single payer health care system for Massachusetts, as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 12C, and that offers continuous, comprehensive, affordable coverage for all Massachusetts residents regardless of income, assets, health status, or availability of other health coverage.

of

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The General Court provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.